WHAT WAS OR IS THE FIRST ROCK AND ROLL SONG?

It was the mix of R&B and Country music played by Elvis, Bill Haley and the Comets,  Jerry Lee Lewis, and their contemporaries.  That was first Labeled Rock and Roll.  It was later used as a marketing term to include Black R&B artists such as Fats Domino and Little Richard so their music could be sold to white kids.

Before Rock and Roll, Jazz was the devils music,  before that Blues,  and their were other genres before that I'm sure.  Whenever and wherever someone is enjoying himself, there is someone else who feels the need to stop it, in order to save his Immortal soul.

as for the first Rock and Roll song try this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_rock_and_roll_record

That is ONLY ONE OF THE MANY THEORIES.

BUT IT IS "WIDELY" accepted that "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK IS THE FIRST ROCKSONG.

THIS WAS IN FACT THE FIRST "ROCK COVER"
I DID find that one of the first melodies who earned to be named R&R was and you know that I trie to write as accurate as possible, which is time consuming (Russ, my back is hurting, I am to much online, and I can't move) occupation, well about occupation, I am a professional websurfer, and here I QUOTE:
A man, named Joe Turner aka BIG.JOE TURNER a black blues artists, who sang, “Shake, Rattle, and Roll.�  If one listens to this song by Joe Turner it should be very clear that this is the, or one of the, first true rock and roll songs. It sounds like a rock and roll song, not a blues song. The beat is up tempo and the words and rhythm of the song depict the sounds and feelings of a true rock and roll song. 
Don't forget, IT WAS STILL the time of SEPARATION, the time of RADIO STATIONS REFUSING TO PLAY "BLACK" music, and the time your parents beating the s**out of you when you came home with a single, performed by a black artist, WASN'T IT SO IN THE 50-ties?
About the mix of BLUES, COUNTRY, GOSPEL, BOOGY WOOGY ( an official music style, piano blues, very popular in the 30-ties), this is indeed the mix for rock.
IKE TURNER IS ALSO A CANDIDATE FOR the first ROCK SONG, he wrote ROCKET 88. These 2 =
“Rocket 88�  and “Shake, Rattle, and Roll�  were all remade by Bill Haley and the Comets.
If you consider BILL HALEY as the first ROCK & ROLL ARTIST, he is a master in covers.
ELVIS PRESLEY, wasn't he considered as a "Black artist?
"The fact that there were so many cover songs recorded by white artists of black artists’ music was also obvious and depicted the state of America at the time
- LAST POINT = Music producers would hear a recording being made or done by a black artist, find a white artist or group to record that same song, and credit the white artist or group as the original artist(s) of that particular song or songs, without giving any recognition or credit to the black artist who first recorded the song.
SO THIS DISCUSSION IS NOT CLOSED: WHO or WHAT, the first R&R song

doc have it your way but i was a teenager when rock n roll started and rock around the clock was my first baptismal into r&r so unless im suffering from amnisia or oldtimers degeneration of brain tissue im right

i think rock started around 1957 or there bouts i remember link ray (rumble) fats jerry lee lewis buddy holly and elvis and then there were the do wop groups and all the motown artist it was a phenominal birth and a wonderful time of inocence for the music industry

YES, many people = many theories, all about the FIRST real R&R song.

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING (certain in MUSIC) COMES FROM NOTHING.
It is an evolution, and in music everyone steals from others, although stealing is a BIG word.
RUSSELL, you are probably THE man who knows MORE than all of us about music and evolution.
MY THEORY about your first real contact with music, and the period you start to listen and appreciate more and more is from the age of 12-13 years old, so I am born on 07/12/1955 (December), following my theory: 1955 + 12 years = 1967, start and evolution where you start to have a more and more specific taste leads me to 1977, having or better being a fan of certain groups.